The Revolutionary transition: Politics, religion, and economy in eastern Connecticut, 1765-1800.

This study examines how political loyalties changed during the Revolutionary era in eastern Connecticut. During the colonial period, eastern Connecticut, with its strong New Light tradition, is viewed as a center for radicalism. The dissertation, rather than finding revolutionary resistance arising from pre-existing sectional divisions, instead argues that Connecticut politics entered a new stage with the Stamp Act Crisis. Old factional lines began to break down, and a popular-based radical faction emerged alongside the colony's older factions. By 1776 revolutionaries in Connecticut were divided between popular and elite Whigs. Popular Whigs, based in both the rural countryside and the major urban areas, became the core of a democratic opposition to Connecticut's conservative Whig leadership. Throughout the war they challenged this leadership to adopt democratic reforms. The dissertation refutes the traditional interpretation that Connecticut's Revolution brought independence, but no deeper political change. Although, the state did not write a constitution or change its leadership, and many institutional features did not change, the Revolution had a profound political impact. By closely examining seven eastern towns, the study details how the Revolution affected political behavior through 1800. The findings clearly demonstrate that Revolutionary ideology, coupled with economic, religious, and political conditions, sparked a democratic political opposition to seek Revolutionary changes in Connecticut. Democratic opposition was centered in a number of disparate groups. Mechanics in the larger towns, first radicalized during the Stamp Act Crisis, advocated democratic change before the start of the war. This group called for such innovations as open legislative debates, an end to plural office holding, universal male taxpayer suffrage, and a written constitution. After 1776, yeomen in rural towns often joined with these radicals. Both groups were also vocal about economic inequalities in their society. A third source of political opposition came from religious dissenters. Long offended by the privileges of the established Congregational Church, after the war, they petitioned for complete religious liberty. The unifying characteristic of the political opposition from the Revolution through 1800 was their commitment to democratic ideas. Religious dissenters, mechanics, and other radicals united to attack the privileges extended to the state's political and religious elites.Ph.D.American historyUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162456/1/9013913.pd